Chasing Lights
by Lamker
Summary: An incident with Innocence has the Exorcists chasing voices and lights in the shadows. The only way to get out is to break it apart. But how do you do that, when you're stuck in a loop of cat and mouse?


**This is for the Dgraymanweek that happened.**  
 **Day 1: Voice of Darkness**  
 **Option B: Manga/Anime 2006 or Manga/Anime 2016**

 **It's been a long time since I've done anything for -Man, so I'm a bit rusty. Sorry of this one is confusing, but I tried xD  
** **I don't own anything - sorry for the grammar mistakes and hope you enjoy =D**

* * *

"That should be the last of them," Allen called, slicing the Level 2 Akuma in half. His left eye scanned for any more enemies, but came up empty.

"Tch, more are probably on the way," Kanda muttered, putting Mugen back into its sheath.

"Yuu's right," Lavi dropped down with his Iron Hammer, shrinking it. "I saw about ten more on the way from the west."

"Then we better move to where Lenalee, Miranda and Krory are. Hopefully, they already have the Innocence and we can leave," Walker urged, not wanting to stay here any longer.

"You worry too much Allen," the redhead smiled. "I'm sure they're fine."

No sooner than he said that, the trio felt a massive wave of energy coming from down the hill, right where their three friends were.

"You sure about that?" the Japanese man narrowed his eyes as they already started running.

* * *

When they arrived, they were stunned to find a giant sphere of darkness and growing. "Lenalee! Miranda! Krory!" they called, looking around, while avoiding the darkness, but came up with nothing.

"They must've been sucked into that thing," Kanda muttered, narrowing his eyes on the sphere as it kept growing.

"You think it's Innocence?" Lavi looked at his two companions, feeling uneasy as he watched it spread.

"Possibly… But who knows what happens if you go in…" Allen frowned, not liking the idea of his friends being trapped in there.

But none of them really had a chance to answer that, as shadow like arms moved outwards from the sphere, towards them. Kanda unleashed Mugen to try and cut the shadow apart, but the blade did nothing against it, as the arm grabbed the Japanese man around the chest. Lavi had managed to toss down his Fire Seal, but it only managed to postpone the movement, as additional arms shot out and grabbed him by the shoulders. Allen jumped in the air to try and get some distance, but the shadows were quicker and took hold of his legs. All three of them struggled, but none managed to break free of the hold, as they were dragged into the darkness.

* * *

"Hello! Is anyone here?!" she called for the hundredth time, wandering around the pitch black space. She doesn't know how long it's been, only that she wanted out. She couldn't see anything, not even her own hands, and her Dark Boots was useless in here. Maybe it was this stray Innocence's interfering – but then why did it grab her, Miranda and Krory?

"What's that?" for a moment, she saw three small, dots of light ahead of herself, and felt hope spark in her soul, before it all got swallowed up by the shadows again.

"I need to find the others! Maybe try and contact the others outside," she had told herself and continued moving. Maybe by going that way, she might find a way out of here.

"Lenalee…" she paused, hearing someone softly call her name, and turned around. Only darkness was everywhere she could see. "Was I hearing it?"

"Lenalee… come to me…" there it was again and she recognized the voice.

"Brother?!" why was Komui here? **How** was he here? "Brother, where are you?!" she called and turned around, away from where she saw the three lights.

"Come and find me, Lenalee…"

* * *

"Miranda! Lenalee! Where are you?" he called into the dark, frowning and turning every which way to try and find his friends. "If you can hear me, say something!" he shouted, his worry getting to him. Last time he saw either of his companions, they were both being dragged into this ball of darkness.

"Now that I am here, I should be able to find them," he told himself, trying to listen for any answer he might have received. Nothing.

"If only I had been more careful! I should have seen this before it came!" he cursed at himself, eyes closed and teeth gritted. Who knows what has happened to them now. And what of the others, outside? Had they noticed? Are they even still alive?

"Maybe this is death…" he thought miserably, a humorless chuckle escaping him.

"Krory…" he spun around, hearing someone fall for him, and knew the voice instantly.

"Eliade?!" he called back, unsure what to believe. Was she here, in the darkness, or was he just imagining her again?

"My poor, poor Kory…" it came again and he could almost figure out from where.

"Eliade, where are you? Come out, I won't harm you!" he assured, looking lost around the void of blackness.

"Come and find me, my love… I'm waiting…"

* * *

"Oh, my head…" he muttered, sitting up and setting a hand on his head. It was pounding and he felt dizzy, but managed to get to his feet. "What happened?" when his eyes opened to the darkness, he froze for a moment. "What is this?!" he asked, turning around to try and find something or someone. "Lavi? Kanda!" he called, concerned for the two. The last thing he remembered, they were being dragged into this thing and now…

"Are they alright?" he asked, trying to adjust to the dark. His left eye hadn't reacted at all, so there couldn't be any Akuma here.

"Allen…" he took in a quick breath, not sure he heard right. He couldn't have…

"Allen, why are you all alone…?" it had asked him and he tried to block it out. This was a trick. It had to be. It had to…

"Come find me, and you won't be anymore…" but… it was Mana's voice. How… What was even happening? Maybe the answers lie with this 'voice of darkness'

"That's right, come," he had moved towards the voice, but was on guard, expecting anything to jump out and try to kill him.

* * *

"Ah man, what is this?" he grumbled, frowning as he couldn't see anything in the dark. To boot, even his Innocence wasn't working. Since the Fire Seal worked last time, he thought he could use it again. No dice it seems.

"Allen! Yuu!" he yelled, hearing only his echo in the shadows. "Where are they?" he moved again, looking around for anything. "…Where am I?" he mumbled, not liking how he couldn't see a thing here.

"Lavi…" his head snapped back as he heard the familiar voice.

"Old man?" he was confused – why was the Panda here?

"That's right… Come, come and find me…" there it went again, but he didn't really buy it.

"Why? What's going on?!" he tried, feeling anxious and worried.

"All your answers are here… If you only find me," he bit his lip and grunted, but ran off towards where he thought he heard the voice coming from. This was probably a trap or some sorts, but he didn't really have many options.

"Tch, what a bother," he frowned, walking in the darkness, searching. He had tried to cut apart the darkness a few times, but his Innocence just wouldn't activate. And now he was stranded here, trying to find some more people.

* * *

"Where could the Rabbit and Beansprout go?" he grumbled on, letting out an agitated sigh as he stopped. This was leading him nowhere but in circles. And just what was this anyway? Innocence, for sure, but, what was it doing?

"Yuu…" he paused his thoughts, ready to threaten a familiar redhead who constantly called him that, only to realize it wasn't the Bookman Junior.

"Come on Yuu, come find me…" he knew that voice – he wasn't sure where or why, but it was on the tip of his tongue.

"Can't be!" he spun, eyes wide, in the direction the voice came from.

"That's right… Come," it beckoned and without thinking, he rushed off. If this person was really here, alive, then that was really bad…

* * *

"Oh no, what do I do now? Where are the others? Should I stay here or should I look for them? What even happened?" she muttered to herself as she walked her arms close to her chest as she looked down on her wrist.

"Rime Record is still active, so they must be alive…" she added, feeling a small bit of relief come to her from that. "But, where?" she looked around worriedly again, and sighed. Suddenly, she felt something pass through her – her Innocence even reacted by protecting her – and she felt cold.

"Is – Is someone out there!" she called, voice shaky a bit. What was that? And why was her Innocence activated? It didn't feel like anything…

"What in the world…?" she glanced down at her weapon again, and saw it spiraling, trying to correct or fix multiple things at once. The others! But, what was going on?

"I need to find them."

* * *

"Brother!" Lenalee called, reaching out a hand towards the small dot of gray light. It had appeared not long after, but kept moving away quickly. She couldn't catch up. "Wait!" she yelled, tears almost in her eyes. She was so confused and lost right now.

That's when the light suddenly stopped, as if hearing her. She slowed down only a bit, wondering what had happened. Then the gray dot moved again, faster than before. She hesitated for a few seconds before rushing again, not wanting to lose the light.

* * *

"Eliade!" Krory shouted for her, but she always seemed to be too far away. As always. The red dot he managed to see in the darkness was fast moving, as if running away from him. But why do that? Why call for him, and then run?

"What is it you want?" he had to stop, had to catch his breath, and the red light seemed to slow down as well. It suddenly changed course and moved to the right, looking more like it was chasing something now. But, what?

* * *

"Mana, hold up!" Allen had been taking it slow, following the green light, but it was moving more and more quickly. He had been running after it, stopping only once to see where it went, before moving again. It was so fast, he was hardly keeping up. And where was it leading him? Why? All he knew was that he had to follow it to the end.

* * *

"Stop you Panda!" Lavi grumbled, trying to keep up with the blue light as it seemed to gain more and more speed the longer this went on. The old man hadn't said anything since he spotted the light and now it was running away? Just what was going on?

"This doesn't make any sense!" he groaned, slowing down a bit to gather his strength. And then he managed to see the light again, to the left, and moved after it.

* * *

"Alma!" Yuu yelled, eyes blazing as he ran after the yellow light, not even slowing down through the whole thing. It wasn't even that fast, as it stopped a few times, but then it'd gather up its strength and just rush onwards.

"I want to know who's messing with me right now," he narrowed his eyes on the light, increasing his speed and could see himself catching up.

* * *

"What… are those?" Miranda paused, looking at the five different colored dots of light just running all around. They didn't seem to be too far, but were moving quickly, as if chasing each other in a circle. She was so confused, but her Innocence told her to go towards the lights, to try and get close to at least one. She swallowed in fear, but moved none the less, albeit slowly. She didn't really know which one to try and get, but the closest one was red, so she'd head there.

* * *

"Is this ever going to end?" Allen asked, seeing the green light get further away again. He was growing tired, and hungry. Not sure how much longer he could even keep this up… And he's still not closer to finding any of his friends.

"What is the point of this?!" he yelled into the abyss, as if it would answer. This was Innocence, so there must be a way to break free of this… void. But how? And how would he get his friends out as well? There was so much going on right now…

* * *

She's had enough. It's been going on for too long, and she couldn't stand it anymore. Tears were already falling and she didn't care – she was angry now, not lost. Why was this happening? What was going on?! She needed to know. So, with a scream, she managed to activate her Black Boots and flew towards the gray light, pushing the wind aside. She had to know. She had to!

"STOP!" she yelled as she sped towards the light. It grew bigger and bigger, until it blinded her, but she pressed on. She had to. And then, just as she the light seemed to burn her eyes, she crashed into _someone_ , knocking them to the ground.

"Lenalee!" she needed a minute to register what was happening – what had happened – and when she did, she couldn't help but cry of joy.

"Allen!" she was sitting atop of him, while Walker himself looked up at her in confusion and shock. He too, needed a few seconds to try and wrap his mind around this. The darkness around them was now replaced with a light blue color, so they could finally see.

* * *

"What the-?!" Lavi stopped running as the blue light seemed to just… vanish. He stood there for a few seconds, just confused. What… what is going on? His heart was pounding and he was panting, but everything seemed to be numb to him. Suddenly, the darkness seemed to grow stronger, thicker, and breathing became hard. He dropped to his knees, trying to get air into his lungs, but it was so hard.

"What… the hell?" he collapsed forward, not really unconscious, just paralyzed. But if he stayed like this for too long, he will die.

* * *

"Eliade?" Krory slowed down, seeing the red dot had stopped. He was weary, but anxious as well, at least until the light started to flicker. It seemed to fade, slowly, growing dimmer all of a sudden. And that made him panic.

"What is going on?" he moved again, but it was hard seeing the flickering light in the darkness now. His heart was racing as his body seemed to grow heavy. That wasn't good. And the more he looked at the light, the weaker it grew. That was worse.

"Just, hold on!" he didn't even know why he called that, but it felt… right?

* * *

"Oh no you don't!" Kanda growled and charged up his speed. The yellow light was slowing down, probably growing weaker, and it stopped not long ago. It was now or never. He was either going to catch up to it now, or this was all just some joke, a never ending loop of cat and mouse. Well, this cat was done playing.

"You're not getting away!" his yell seemed to echo in the shadows as he dashed forward, closing in on the light. He had to partially close his eyes to keep himself from going blind, but as he entered the light, he saw a figure inside.

"You?" Kanda asked, Mugen by the man's throat, who seemed scared and shocked to even find him here.

"Kanda!" Krory called, hands in the air to avoid getting his throat sliced open. He had not expected this at all, but was glad none the less. Even if he and the Japanese man didn't get along too well, they were still considered comrades. A new light formed, this one green with a mixture of yellow, turning almost pale.

* * *

"Agh!" Miranda gritted her teeth, clenching her Innocence close to her chest. It was spiraling, trying to fix something – someone – again. She looked down at it shakily, and saw that four out of five were a steady pace now. The last one…

"Lavi!" she panicked, worried for the redhead. The red light she's been following was growing weaker and weaker, to the point she could hardly see it anymore, despite being close to it. Was… was that-? It couldn't be…

"Oh no…" she gathered the rest of her strength and pushed through the pain, seeing how the light was growing smaller and fading.

"Faster… I need to- I need to go faster!" she yelled at herself and pressed on, jumping at the last bit, hand reaching out into the light.

"Don't go!" the tips of her fingers passed through, and for a second, everything seemed to stop, before the red light started pulsing. Like a heart.

"LAVI!" Lotto called, relief and concern mixed together as she saw the redhead on the ground, panting, and looking half dead.

"Mi…randa?" Bookman Jr. managed to turn his eye towards her, trying to smile, but couldn't. He was still weak, but the woman was glowing golden, and it seemed to ease his pain greatly. They were soon surrounded by a light – a golden-red one, almost orange.

* * *

"Allen, what's going on?" Lee asked, helping the boy stand up.

"I'm not sure…" he answered back. "But I'd say the Innocence is testing us."

"Testing us? How? And for what?" she was still confused and worried for her other friends.

"I don't know," he paused and looked at her with wide eyes. "Lenalee, did you hear someone's voice in here?"

"And then a light?" she added in, seeing where he was going. "You too?"

"It seems so… All of us probably had the same experience…"

"So, we were supposed to chase each other? Then, who were you chasing?"

"My light was green, and Mana spoke to me before…"

"Well, mine was gray – and it turned out to be you. I heard Komui though…"

They thought for a few seconds, just trying to understand what was happening, before Allen sighed and looked at her.

"We need to find the others."

"Agreed. And if the others are other lights… We just follow them?"

"That seems to be our only option right now," they were sure and gave each other a nod, before turning to the side. The light seemed to fade a bit, surrounding only their bodies now, and allowing them to see the dark void again.

"Last time I saw the green light, it was around… there!" Walker pointed to the left, and the two set of there.

* * *

"I see. You lost track of the others as well," Kanda sighed, arms crossed, as he and the Vampire explained their situations in short.

"I'm so sorry," Krory lowered his head, still feeling guilty about that.

"Nothing to do about it now but search for them," Yuu sighed and turned around. "Red light you say…" he mumbled, narrowing his eyes. "And you were yellow. Is there a pattern?"

"I'm really worried now. That red light started fading… Whoever it was is probably in trouble," Arystar stepped next to other man. Kanda then seemed to realize something, as he looked at his hand.

"You're sure Miranda was pulled in here?"

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes… Why?"

"Because our wounds haven't been brought back… Innocence doesn't seem to work in here. So, why is the Time Record still active?"

"What are you trying to say? That we're only imagining this?"

"I'm not sure, but it's clear Miranda can use hers. But, by what principle?" he thought back to Innocence, and how that would affect anything.

"Tch, this is annoying…" he grumbled and started to move, followed closely by the Vampire. Their light surrounded them as well, giving a view into the darkness.

* * *

"A-Are you any better?" Lotto asked, sitting next to the redhead, who was recovering.

"Yeah, a bit, thanks," Lavi managed a smile, focusing on his breathing first.

"Thank God," she let out a breath of relief, glad her friend was alright. "What is happening here, Lavi? Where are the others?"

"I'm not too sure," he answered, moving his shoulders a bit. "But I haven't seen anyone."

"I – I think I might have?" at his blinking eye, she continued: "Before - before I came here, I saw five lights, all running in a circle… And, you were red," she added, not sure how to explain what she saw.

"I was chasing someone…" he mumbled, recalling the blue light. "But it disappeared… After that, my body just seemed to shut down," it was only now that he noticed her Innocence and how it was still spinning.

"It's working?" he gasped, not sure if he was seeing right.

"Y-Yes. Has been since I came here… Why?"

"Mine doesn't!" he found new strength and managed to stand up. "Can you find the others?" he asked, perhaps a bit too energetic and lost his balance for a moment.

"If – If I tried, I'm sure," she got to on her legs as well, giving a nod. "Lavi, what is this?"

"I think we came across another Innocence with time," he looked at her weapon. "This place must be inside it, and it causes loops of those trapped. Like yours did. And one Time won't work on another one," he explained, giving her a grin. "You're the only one who can get us out of here, Miranda!"

* * *

"Allen, look!" Lenalee pointed out two dots of light ahead of them – one orange and the other a pale green.

"You think that could be the others?" Walker spotted them as well, and couldn't help the smile at the thought of finally finding his friends.

"It has to be!" they moved faster, and saw that the other two lights were coming at them as well. They'd be close enough to see each other soon!

And sure enough, the three lights met halfway, each one surrounding two of the Exorcists. They were all relieved to have found each other, even if Kanda acted like he didn't care, and tried to figure out what had happened. Lavi managed to explain, in a way.

"So, how do we get out?" Walker asked, looking from Miranda to Lavi.

"Well," the redhead mumbled, looking at the side.

"You have no idea," Yuu frowned, glancing at the Bookman.

"Hey, I'm trying here okay? This stuff is complicated!"

"We need to try harder. There's no telling how long this will last. Maybe it's even another loop!" Lee spoke up before those two could argue any more.

"Just stay calm. I'm sure there's more than enough time to figure it out," Allen added, putting his hands up.

"…Miranda?" Krory asked, glancing at the woman, and getting the others to look as well. She was looking down at her Innocence in wonder, but didn't seem present…

"…I know what I need to do…" Lotto whispered, and closed her eyes. The others panicked, seeing her deactivating her weapon.

"What are you doing? You'll doom us all!" but no one could stop her as the Time Record turned off. Suddenly, their different lights shimmered and faded, leaving them all in darkness once more.

They all tried to speak, yet no sound came. Tried to move, knowing someone was near them, yet their bodies didn't listen. Even breathing seemed to stop for a few seconds, as they all thought they were frozen in the shadows. And then…

* * *

A pure, white light seemed to appear out of nowhere, right in the middle of their makeshift circle. It was a form of a small girl, who looked up at Miranda. Finally, things seemed to move again, as they could breath, could move and could speak.

"W-What happened?"

"I'm so sorry," the little girl spoke, her voice echoing all around the darkness. From her, light seemed to spread, as it pushed away the dark void. "I was just trying to help… There were so many scary monsters outside…" she went on, hanging her head.

"You're… Innocence?" Kanda asked, looked beyond confused. How was this possible?

"I am," she turned to him, but her face was blank. "I hope you aren't mad at me…"

"…You said you were trying to help us? Bring us… here, to keep us safe from the monsters?" Allen asked, giving a smile.

"Mhm. I didn't want them to hurt you, since you all seem to be really nice. But I couldn't tell you anything, because something kept me away," she turned back to Lotto. "Her."

"Miranda's Innocence went directly against yours… That's why she couldn't be affected by what happened to the rest," Lavi mumbled in thought.

"But why were we chasing each other?" Krory spoke up, still confused.

"I heard you were all looking for each other, so I thought I'd help… But with the other Innocence in the way, I wasn't sure where everyone was, so I gave you all someone to follow – someone you cared for. And then, when you got together, I couldn't be there anymore. I didn't know who was chasing who though… That's why you almost died…" she turned to Lavi, lowering her head a bit. The redhead only gave her a grin.

"You helped us see and find each other?" Lenalee blinked, and smiled. "I guess we should thank you for that."

"Can you let us now? The monsters are gone," Walker added gently, bending over and closer to the kid.

"Are you sure?" she seemed worried and sad, looking up.

"We are. And don't worry! We'll take you with us home! You won't be lonely anymore!" he added with a smile, as the light grew stronger.

"Really? I won't be alone anymore?"

"No, you won't. And soon, you'll find a close friend who'll always be with you."

"Thank you!" her words echoed far and wide as the void finally started to vanish, with one last blinding light. And when it was over, the Exorcists found themselves in the forest. They all found their wounds were back, but declined when Miranda offered her Recovery.

* * *

"I think we've had enough time bending for one day," Lavi blurred out, blinking to adjust to the new light.

"And we have the Innocence," Kanda picked up the said item, holding it in his hand and feeling warmth coming off it.

"How long were we in there?" Lenalee asked, seeing the sun was still in the sky.

"Because of the loop, time hardly passed," Allen offered, sighing as he stretched his arms.

"Then it is best we get going," Krory suggested, before his nose picked something up.

"Look! The Exorcists! And they have the Innocence!" the Akuma have just arrived, standing atop the hill and looking down on the six people.

"Kill them!" the Exorcists sighed and prepared – five Level 2 Akuma. Just enough for them to let off some steam of recent events.

* * *

 **So, yeah. Like I said- confusing and stuff, but well, it was the first day.**  
 **Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed - if you did, review? I'd love to hear from you all!**


End file.
